Our transatlantic commitment
Our projects with and in the USA
In a present with multiple crises, dialog and mutual understanding in transatlantic exchange are more important than ever. We want to contribute to this with our offers and programs for trainees and young professionals.
With the "Azubis USA & Canada" program, we have become a pioneer in the German-American exchange of trainees and with "GATE - German Apprenticeship Training Exchange", we support vocational schools that enter into partnerships with American and Canadian colleges. Furthermore, we will soon be promoting transatlantic dialogue with our own conference center in the Atlanta region (USA), the "Joachim Herz House". Transatlantic exchange is also at the heart of our other projects with a connection to the USA, such as "YES! - Young Economic Solutions", one of the largest German school competitions in the field of economics, in which American students also take part. We also promote network partners who support transatlantic exchange.
New meeting place in Atlanta
Joachim Herz House
The farm of our founder Joachim Herz will become Joachim Herz House. The house is designed for conferences, workshops and events and will be open to our project partners on both sides of the Atlantic as well as non-profit organizations from the region.
Programs for exchange and encounters
Apprentices USA & Canada
With "Azubis USA & Canada", around 50 trainees from Germany travel to the USA and Canada every year, where they spend several weeks at colleges or internship companies. The program is open to trainees from all professions who are completing their training in Bavaria, Berlin, the Hamburg metropolitan region or Saxony.
GATE - German Apprenticeship Training Exchange
With GATE, we support German vocational schools that enter into an exchange with colleges in the USA and Canada or already maintain a partnership. In the first two years of setting up the exchange program, teachers at vocational schools can apply for up to 20,000 euros per year.
Begegnungszonen
The "Begegnungszonen" funding line supports a variety of event formats for young scientists to collaborate across disciplines in a scientific context. The format serves as a platform to support interdisciplinary research and to network regionally and nationally. Since 2020, the program has increasingly supported events that promote collaboration between German and US research institutes.
YES! Young Economic Solutions
YES! - Young Economic Solutions is one of the largest German school competitions in the field of economics. Students in grades ten to twelve work together with researchers to develop their own solutions to regional and global challenges from the economy, society, politics and the environment. Since 2021, teams from the United Kingdom (UK) and the USA have also been taking part in the competition. The competition is organized in the USA by the Goethe-Institut Washington, D.C.
Funding from network partners
German American Exchange
German American Exchange enables German students and young professionals to get to know the way American companies work in the USA. The aim is for participants to understand the importance of US-European economic relations and to strengthen mutual trust.
German American Partnership Program
The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) supports long-term school partnerships between schools in Germany and the U.S. by funding reciprocal exchange encounters between groups of students. Among other things, the program subsidizes flight costs for students and accompanying teachers.
New Bridge Program
Since 2021, the New Bridge Program has offered young professionals from the United States the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the political, economic and social structure of Europe and to engage in interdisciplinary discussions about transatlantic relations as part of a fully funded study trip. Since September 2023, the New Bridge Program has also been open to residents of Germany. "New Bridge to the US" aims to address the underrepresentation in international exchange programs and comprehensively reflect the diversity of German society.
AtlanticTalks" event series
With the "AtlanticTalks" dialog format, we want to provide impetus from science and education and thus also strengthen transatlantic relations. Previous guests have included the German politician Sawsan Chebli, the journalist Jiffer Bourguignon and Karsten D. Voigt, who was the long-time coordinator of German-American cooperation at the Federal Foreign Office. The series of events usually takes place on the Foundation's premises in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
Further information
The litmus test of modern societies
A guest article by Michael Werz (Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Washington DC) on "Diversity in the transatlantic context".